Network maps of student work with physics, other sciences, and math in an integrated science course

TL;DR

This study uses network analysis to examine how integrated science courses in Denmark structure teaching activities, revealing that they often treat sciences as separate rather than interconnected disciplines.

Contribution

It introduces a network analysis approach to visualize and analyze the structure of integrated science lessons, highlighting the separation of disciplines in practice.

Findings

Teaching activities rarely integrate sciences to solve problems

Lessons tend to treat sciences as distinct and separate

Network maps reveal limited interdisciplinary collaboration

Abstract

In 2004 Denmark introduced a compulsory integrated science course the most popular upper secondary study program. One of the nation-wide course aims are for students to "achieve knowledge about some of the central scientific issues and their social, ethical, and historical perspectives". This is to be done via collaboration between the subjects, and often involves physics and another scientific subject. The official teaching plans further state that mathematics must be used for analysing data. We use network analysis to study six different implementations of the course in terms of the structure of different kinds of teaching/learning activities. By creating networks maps of each lesson, we show that teaching/learning activities in the course seldom tends to address how sciences can work together to solve a problem, but rather stages each natural science as a distinct and separate activity with a distinct identity.